Object configuration utilities

ABSTRACT

Configuration utilities, such as object wizards, enable automatic configuration of domain-specific assets from object templates based on domain specific options. In an aspect, an application object template library stores a set of previously defined application object templates. The templates each include a superset of options common to a set of related domain objects. A configuration utility is configured for specifying at least one domain-specific option of the superset and creating an application object instance to be included in an application. The application object instance comprising at least one of the application object templates having the specified domain-specific option.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/293,108 filed Mar. 5, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/493,242 filed Apr. 21, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,228,915, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/325,814, filed Apr. 21, 2016. The entire contents ofthe above-identified applications are expressly incorporated herein byreference, including the contents and teachings of any referencescontained therein and appendices thereto.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to development andconfiguration of processor-executable applications that monitor and/orcontrol components in industrial processes. More particularly, aspectsrelate to systems and methods for automatically configuring domainspecific objects for use in industrial software design and management.

BACKGROUND

Typical industrial processes are extremely complex and receivesubstantially greater volumes of information than any human couldpossibly digest in its raw form. By way of example, it is not unheard ofto have thousands of sensors and control elements (e.g., valveactuators) monitoring/controlling aspects of a multi-stage processwithin an industrial plant. These sensors are of varied type and reporton varied characteristics of the process. Their outputs are similarlyvaried in the meaning of their measurements, in the amount of data sentfor each measurement, and in the frequency of their measurements. Asregards the latter, for accuracy and to enable quick response, some ofthese sensors/control elements take one or more measurements everysecond. Multiplying a single sensor/control element by thousands ofsensors/control elements (a typical industrial control environment)results in an overwhelming volume of data flowing into the manufacturinginformation and process control system. Sophisticated data managementand process visualization techniques have been developed to handle thelarge volumes of data generated by such system.

Highly advanced human-machine interface/process visualization systemsexist today that are linked to data sources such as the above-describedsensors and controllers. Such systems acquire and digest (e.g., filter)the process data described above. The digested process data in-turndrives a graphical display rendered by a human machine interface (HMI).Examples of such systems are the well-known Wonderware INTOUCH™ HMIsoftware system for visualizing and controlling a wide variety ofindustrial processes and the ArchestrA™ (e.g., the application server orAppServer for INTOUCH™) comprehensive automation and informationsoftware open architecture designed to integrate and extend the life oflegacy systems by leveraging the latest, open industry standards andsoftware technologies.

Control system development environments allow for the configuration,development, and deployment of applications to runtime environments oncontrol components in industrial processes. For example, WonderwareSystem Platform, available from Schneider Electric, provides industrialsoftware design and management services. It acts as a company's“industrial operating system” by providing various services includingvisualization, configuration, deployment, communication, security, dataconnectivity, data storage and management, people collaboration, and soforth.

Known object-based development environments can model an industrialplant by logically representing processes, physical equipment, andindustrial systems with re-usable application objects. Standardized,pre-tested objects are available for building equipment or processtemplates. Unfortunately, configuring and using assets (i.e.,application objects templates) can be very complex and difficult. Itrequires significant understanding of both the domain being modeled andan understanding of the object oriented principles of industrialsoftware design and management services platform.

For example, consider object templates that model pumps. The goal is toenable users (e.g., electrician, maintenance engineer, etc.) to selectan object template that exactly matches a pump being added duringupgrades and/or plant modifications. Because the plant has been inoperation for many years, the pumps already installed are quite diverse.Some pumps are powered by electric motors while others are pneumatic;some have speed sensors, some have temperature sensors, some have both,some have neither; and some of the pumps are in explosive environmentssuch that they must meet a higher level of safety, putting them ineither explosion-proof Division 1 or Division 2.

A conventional template derivation, such as shown in FIG. 1, formodeling pumps must account for all variations in each branch at eachlevel of the hierarchy because each level inherits the attributes andproperties of its parent level. In the example of FIG. 1, the differentlevels are referred to as Level 0 to Level 4. For three variables (e.g.,power, sensors, division), there must be at least nine final templates(e.g., leaves) in the hierarchy. FIG. 1 illustrates a type of powervariable at Level 2, a type of sensor variable at Level 3, and adivision variable at Level 4. From these three variables, the hierarchyof FIG. 1 has three leaves at Level 3 under Pneumatic Pump and sixleaves at Level 4 under Electric Pump, requiring at least nine finaltemplates. Thus, using a hierarchy to derive object attributes andproperties can become quite unmanageable and difficult to understand,especially in complex industrial plant environments.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure provide object configuration utilities (e.g.,wizards, etc.) that allow users to configure and utilize objecttemplates by selecting a number of options and making choices based onthe domain equipment being modeled. In turn, the object templatesautomatically configure the assets. This greatly simplifies the usage ofobject templates and speeds the development of process control systemapplications such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)applications.

In an aspect, a template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing information application development platform includes anapplication object template library and a configuration utility. Theapplication object template library stores a set of previously definedapplication object templates. Each of the application object templatesincludes a superset of options common to a set of related domainobjects. The configuration utility is configured to specify at least onedomain-specific option of the superset and create an application objectinstance to be included in an application. The application objectinstance comprises the configuration settings of at least one of theapplication object templates and the specified domain-specific optionsand configuration settings.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of deriving applicationobject instances includes an application object template library storinga set of previously defined application object templates. The templateseach include elements representing a superset of domain-specific optionscommon to a set of related assets of an industrial process. An objectwizard specifies at least one of the domain-specific options for atleast one element within a template. The object wizard creates instancesof the application object templates to be included in a supervisoryprocess control and manufacturing information application for theindustrial process. The instances comprise application objectsinstantiated from selected application object templates including thedomain-specific options. The object wizard automatically configures theinstances with the selected domain-specific options.

In yet another aspect, a computer readable storage device storesprocessor readable instructions that, when executed by a processor,provide a template-based supervisory process control and manufacturingapplication development platform. The platform includes an applicationobject template library and an object wizard capability. The librarystores a set of previously defined application object templates thateach include elements representing a superset of domain-specific optionscommon to a set of related assets of an industrial process. Thetemplates also include domain-specific options. The object wizard isconfigured for specifying at least one of the plurality ofdomain-specific options for each element and creating instances of theapplication object templates to be included in an application. Theinstances comprise application objects instantiated from selectedapplication object templates including selected domain-specific options.The instances are automatically configured with the selecteddomain-specific options.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointedout hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary template hierarchy utilized byconventional systems and methods.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary industrial process system within whichaspects of the disclosure may be incorporated.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary mock up for showing symbols according to anembodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screenshot showing an implementation for themockup of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5A-5E are an exemplary class diagram illustrating dependencies forintegrating a symbol configuration utility with object configurationutilities according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary class diagram illustrating symbol configurationutility overrides according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary class diagram illustrating symbol configurationutility dependencies according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 14 are exemplary sequence diagrams according to anembodiment.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary sequence diagram illustrating event flowaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary method of deriving application object instancesaccording to an embodiment.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system 100 within which an embodimentmay be incorporated. In this instance, the system 100 includes aconfiguration device 102, a supervisory device 104, a communicationsinfrastructure 106, and an exemplary plant, such as a fluid processingsystem 108. As illustrated, the fluid processing system 108 includesprocess controllers 110, tanks 112, valves 114, sensors 116, and a pump118. In system 100, the configuration device 102, the supervisory device104, the process controllers 110, the tanks 112, the valves 114, thesensors 116, and the pump 118 are communicatively coupled via thecommunications infrastructure 106. Wonderware System Platform, forinstance, is capable of interfacing to hundreds of field devices andplant systems, allowing extensive re-use of engineering, easingmaintenance burdens, and providing broad scalability and extensibilitywhile accommodating new computing technologies such as virtualization.

The Wonderware System Platform services allow an organization to build asingle, unified “plant model” that logically represents processes,physical equipment and industrial systems and even legacy systems,making the design and maintenance of these systems more efficient andflexible with less risk. The plant model also gives context to data,greatly assisting with diagnostics and troubleshooting while providingvaluable system documentation throughout the system lifecycle. The plantmodel is unique to the Wonderware System Platform.

The object-based application development environment provided byWonderware System Platform enables building, testing, deploying, andmaintaining a wide range of industrial applications using re-usableapplication objects.

As described above, configuring and using assets (i.e., applicationobjects templates) can be very complex and difficult. It requiressignificant understanding of both the domain being modeled and anunderstanding of the object oriented principles of industrial softwaredesign and management services platform.

Object configuration utilities (e.g., wizards, etc.) embodying aspectsof the disclosure allow users to configure and utilize object templatesby selecting (e.g., specifying) a number of options and making choicesbased on the domain equipment being modeled which then automaticallyconfigures the assets. This greatly simplifies the usage of objecttemplates and speeds the development of process control systemapplications such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)applications. In an embodiment, object templates are stored in anapplication object template library.

As used herein, the term “configuration utility” includes a graphicaluser interface (GUI) presentation of options, choices, and/or settingsand the behaviors associated therewith. In an embodiment, aconfiguration utility is an object wizard, but one of ordinary skill inthe art will understand that other types of configuration utilities arewithin the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the term“wizard consumer” includes a user configuring an object wizard instanceand/or the GUI that presents the user with the wizard options, choices,and/or settings. As used herein, the term “choice” includes a namedselectable alternative within a choice group. Moreover, the term “choicegroup” includes a customized group of related choices and name and/orprompt to describe them. Furthermore, the term “option” includes a namedTrue/False value. As used herein, the term “associated attribute”includes a link between an attribute of a simplified attribute editor(e.g., the object itself) and a single choice or option. The term“setting” includes a configurable value associated with an associatedattribute. As used herein, the term “simplified attribute editor” or“SAE” includes a host of the wizard definition GUI. SAE is used tocharacterize the attributes and settings of the template or instanceitself as opposed to the wizard's associated attributes and settings inaccordance with one or more embodiments. An “associated symbol” includesa symbol that is linked with the object. The term “associated symbolwizard” includes a link between an associated symbol of the object and asingle choice or option. A “symbol wizard” or “SW” includes propertiesof the associated symbol. And as used herein the terms “overview symbol”and “container symbol” include the symbol containing an embedded symbolfrom the instance.

Referring further to FIG. 2, the configuration device 102 is adapted toprovide a development environment that enables the design, development,and deployment of applications that are executed by process controllers110 to control aspects of fluid processing system 108. In the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 2, configuration device 102 executesprocessor-executable instructions embodied on a storage memory device toprovide the development environment and other capabilities via asoftware environment, as further described herein. In an embodiment,configuration device 102 is any computing device capable of executingprocessor-executable instructions including, but not limited to, one ormore servers.

The supervisory device 104 is adapted to enable management ofapplications. In an embodiment, supervisory device 104 executesprocessor-executable instructions embodied on a storage memory device toprovide a human-machine interface (HMI) application manager 120. Forexample, aspects of supervisory device 104 may provide a graphicalrepresentation of components of fluid processing system 108 thatfacilitates monitoring and administration of a manufacturing process. Inan embodiment, HMI 120 is configured to interact with update logic in aprocess controller 110 to alarm or prompt a user of an update and toprovide operator feedback where required. An exemplary HMI applicationmanager is the Wonderware System Platform available from SchneiderElectric. In another embodiment, aspects of application management areprovided by configuration device 102.

The communications infrastructure 106 is capable of facilitating theexchange of data among various components of system 100, includingconfiguration device 102, supervisory device 104, and components offluid processing system 108 (e.g., process controllers 110, valves 114,sensors 116, etc.). The communications infrastructure 106 in theembodiment of FIG. 2 includes a local area network (LAN) that isconnectable to other telecommunications networks, including other LANsor portions of the Internet or an intranet.

The communications infrastructure 106 may be any telecommunicationsnetwork that facilitates the exchange of data, such as those thatoperate according to the IEEE 802.3 (e.g., Ethernet) and/or the IEEE802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi) protocols, for example. In another embodiment,communications infrastructure 106 is any medium that allows data to bephysically transferred through serial and/or parallel communicationchannels (e.g., copper, wire, optical fiber, computer bus, wirelesscommunication channel, etc.). In an embodiment, communicationsinfrastructure 106 comprises at least in part a process control network.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the fluid processing system 108 is adaptedfor changing or refining raw materials to create end products. It willbe apparent to one skilled in the art that aspects of the presentdisclosure are capable of optimizing processes and processing systemsother than fluid processing system 108 and that system 108 is presentedfor illustration purposes only. Additional exemplary processes include,but are not limited to, those in the chemical, oil and gas, food andbeverage, pharmaceutical, water treatment, and power industries. Forexample, processes may include conveyers, power distribution systems,and/or processes or operations that cannot be interrupted. In anembodiment, process controllers 110 provide an interface or gatewaybetween components of fluid processing system 108 (e.g., valves 114,sensors 116, pump 118) and other components of system 100 (e.g.,configuration device 102, supervisory device 104). In anotherembodiment, components of fluid processing system 108 communicatedirectly with configuration device 102 and supervisory device 104 viacommunications infrastructure 106. In yet another embodiment, processcontrollers 110 transmit data to and receive data from configurationdevice 102, supervisory device 104, valves 114, sensors 116, and/or pump118 for controlling and/or monitoring various aspects of fluidprocessing system 108.

The process controllers 110 of FIG. 2 are adapted to control and/ormonitor aspects of fluid processing system 108. In an embodiment,processor controllers 110 are physical or virtual programmable logiccontrollers (PLC) that control and collect data from aspects of fluidprocessing system 108. Virtual PLCs may run on a distributed computingenvironment that is local to the plant in some embodiments.

In an embodiment, asset standards (e.g., application object templates inWonderware System Platform) are templates used for creating domainspecific objects (i.e., assets) representing equipment, processes,products, or other real world entities within a supervisory controlapplication. System engineers create and configure elements within thestandard (attributes, symbols, and scripts). More specific assetstandards can be derived from generic ones when the need to specializethem arises. Within a derived standard, a system engineer configureselements inherited from the more generic standard (attributes, symbols,and scripts) and can additionally create new elements if required.

For example, a generic asset standard (e.g., template) representing avalve can be created that contains elements common to all valves. Morespecific valve standards (e.g., 2-way, 3-way, analog, discrete, etc.)can be derived that configure the common elements of the generic valvestandard appropriately as well as add additional capabilities unique tothe specific type of valve represented by the particular standard. Inthis manner, aspects of the present disclosure provide benefits overconventional approaches by including common capabilities in a singletemplate while still supporting final configured instances that includeonly relevant elements. In an embodiment, derived standards modifyelements of a template and/or change the default selection and/or valuesfor its options, choices, and/or settings. In another embodiment, wizardoptions and choices within derived standards that are preconfigured(e.g., defaulted to a different value) are optionally hidden from a user(e.g., engineer, etc.) that leverages the new derived standard, therebysimplifying the complexity of the wizard user interface presented withinthe configuration utility to configure an instance.

According to aspects of the disclosure, the configuration utilitiesdescribed herein extend the existing application object template model.In an embodiment, object wizards are asset standards that extend theabove-described model by allowing domain-oriented engineers to define(e.g., specify) a set of domain-specific options and choices. An assetbuilder uses the defined options and choices to select when configuringa specific asset based on the standard. Elements of that asset areautomatically configured or excluded from configuration based on choicesmade. In an embodiment, the system engineer provides these values withinthe asset standard. Asset builders no longer need to understand thecomplexity of the object's elements in order to configure them since thedetails of the domain specific object's elements are encapsulated withinthis additional, simple, domain-specific layer.

As described above, a template derivation would have to account for allvariations in each branch at each level of the hierarchy because eachlevel inherits the attributes and properties of its parent level. Forthe three variables (power, sensors, division) shown in FIG. 1, forexample, a template derivation would require at least nine finaltemplates (e.g., leaves) in the hierarchy. Thus, in contrast to thepresent disclosure, using a hierarchy to derive object attributes andproperties can become quite unmanageable and difficult to understand.The fact that object wizard assets can be simpler than the standard onwhich they are based minimizes the need for leveraging derivation to addelements to asset standards throughout the derivation hierarchy (whichcan create maintenance issues). It also enables configuring all elementsin a single space, which avoids one of the common pitfalls ofderivation.

The choice groups and options (questions) and choices (possible answers)presented to the asset builder include visibility rules that can hidequestions (or potential answers) based on the set of earlier answersgiven. This facilitates the creation of object wizards that presenttheir questions in the form of a decision tree. Moreover, object wizardscan be derived from more generic object wizards to further simplify theexperience for the asset builder.

In an embodiment, object wizards build on Wonderware System Platform toprovide a solution based on templates and inheritance.

Templates with configuration utility (e.g., object wizard and symbolwizard) integration capabilities provide an alternative mechanism forcreating the same instances without the maintainability issuesassociated with deep template hierarchies. A key driver for customers tocreate deep and wide hierarchies of derived templates is the need tocover all possible combinations of the variations of the equipment typebeing modeled. Because the goal of a template is to enable multipleinstances to be created while minimizing the need to add similarattributes or functionality into each instance, all common functionalityshould be placed inside the template. For equipment that can take onmany different forms and/or has several significant options, thisprocess requires multiple levels of derivation.

The following describes an exemplary process embodying aspects of thepresent disclosure:

Creating an object wizard: A new object wizard is created bydefining/specifying wizard choice groups or options within anapplication server template. By design, any template can potentially bean object wizard. A template becomes an object wizard whenever itcontains wizard choices/options, and ceases to be an object wizard whenthe last choice/option is removed.

Where and how—wizard configuration user interface: The user interfacefor defining an object wizard is integrated into the SAE according to anembodiment. For example, a button (with two-state indicator highlightedwhen the template is an object wizard) is used to show the wizard userinterface. The wizard user interface displays all configured choicegroups, choices, and options as well as the associated attributes, theirsettings, and the like.

Defining (add/remove) choice groups: A choice group includes a prompt orquestion and a set of possible answers. Choice groups each contain twoor more choices. One choice is selected within the editor and will bethe default when the wizard is used to configure (e.g., create) aninstance and/or is tested. When a choice group is first added, it willbe given a prompt unique from all other choices within that choice group(e.g., Group #1). Newly created choice groups will have their firstchoice initially selected as the default.

Changing choice group prompt text: Each choice group has an associatedprompt that can be edited at any time by the wizard designer within thetemplate that defines it. Choice groups have prompts unique from otherchoice groups or options.

Changing the default choice: The default choice can be changed for anychoice group whether defined by the template or its parent.

Defining (add/remove) choices within a choice group: When a choice isfirst added it will be given a prompt unique from all other choiceswithin that choice group (e.g., Choice #1). When the currently selected(e.g., default) choice is removed, the first remaining choice within thechoice group will be selected.

Changing choice prompt text: Each choice has an associated prompt thatcan be edited at any time by the wizard designer within the templatethat defines it. Choices have prompts unique from other choices withintheir choice group.

Defining (add/remove) options: When an option is first added it will begiven a prompt unique from all other choices within that choice group(e.g., Option #1).

Changing option prompt text: Each option has an associated prompt thatcan be edited at any time by the wizard designer within the templatethat defines it. Options have prompts unique from other choice groups oroptions.

Changing the default state of option: An option's default state can beenabled (e.g., selected) or disabled (e.g., deselected).

Reordering existing choice groups, choices, and options: Existingchoices can be moved up or down relative to the other choices definedwithin the same choice group. Existing choice groups and options can bemoved up or down relative to the other choice groups and options.Reordering will change the visibility expression and user will beprompted for confirmation if the user wants to cancel the reordering.The visibility expressions refer the options or choices from top of theselected choice or option.

Hiding choice groups, choices, and options from the wizard consumer:Choice groups, options, and choices can be hidden either permanently ordepending on the value of another option or choice group. Permanentlyhiding a choice group, option, and/or choice is allowed when it isinherited.

Hiding (from wizard consumer) unless a related option or choice isselected: Choice groups, options, and/or choices can be hidden from thewizard consumer unless a single related option or choice is selected.They effectively become “nested” to the related option or choice andpresented to the wizard consumer when that option and/or choice isselected.

Hiding from the wizard consumer unless a Boolean expression referencingoptions or choice is True: Choice groups, options, and/or choices can behidden from the wizard consumer unless a Boolean expression based onrelated options and/or choices evaluates to True. Expressions includethe following:

-   -   1. Case insensitive fully qualified option/choice selections        quoted with brackets. For example: [Choice Group #1::Choice #2]        or [Option #1::True]    -   2. “And” and “Or” binary operators    -   3. “Not” unary operator    -   4. Parenthesis: “(” and “)”        In an embodiment, whitespace outside of literals and operators        is ignored, “And” has higher precedence than “Or”, “Not” has        higher precedence than “And” or “Or”, “&&” or “&” can be used in        place of “And”, “∥” or “|” can be used in place of “Or”, and/or        “!” can be used in place of “Not”. In another embodiment, choice        group, option, and choice prompts can contain any text except        for square brackets and “::” to support being included in        expressions.

Runtime impact of visibility expression on option or choice group: Whenoption or choice group is not visible (e.g., due to expression) then thesystem will apply the default value of hidden option and choice group,which is defined by the wizard creator. This is different behavior thana symbol wizard rule. The object wizard allows the wizard creator toconfigure the option or choice group similar to symbol wizard stylebehavior. The object wizard also gives flexibility. This change inbehavior helps the wizard creator to create minimal options and hidemany advanced options which are not required to configure for the wizardconsumer unless the wizard consumer chooses the advanced options.

Hiding from the wizard consumer (available if inherited): Inheritedchoice groups, choices, and/or options can be permanently hidden withina derived template. Hiding an inherited option and/or choice groupeffectively locks the specified default value or choice within the childtemplate. Hiding an inherited choice (not the choice group that containsit) removes that choice from the inherited choice group presented to thewizard consumer. The currently selected default choice cannot be hidden.If less than two choices remain visible within a choice group the choicegroup itself will be hidden.

Associating attributes with choices and options: User Defined Attributes(UDA) (e.g., locked or unlocked) within the wizard template can beassociated with one or more choices or options. FIG. 9 illustrates anexemplary Sequence—Get associated symbols. This association is used bythe wizard to determine whether the attribute will be required withininstances derived from the wizard template. If associated with multiplechoices, the attribute's configurable settings can be configured withunique values depending on the selected choice. Settings for associatedattributes can also be optionally exposed within the wizard consumer'seditor to be customized for each instance. In an embodiment, attributesexplicitly added to an object maintained in a centralized configurationdatabase (e.g., a galaxy) by a user (e.g., engineer) is a UDA. The user(e.g., engineer) specifies the name, data type, default value, and likeaspects of a UDA when it is defined. In a further embodiment, attributesthat are not UDAs are defined and added implicitly to the object when itis first created or when additional capabilities (e.g., scripts,attribute features, etc.) are later added. In an aspect, the names anddata types of a non-UDA attribute are not configurable.

Impact on associated attributes: Any attribute associated with one ormore options or choices will become a candidate for removal from aninstance if none of its related choices/options are selected. During anobject edit session, attributes that are candidates for removal will notactually be removed until the instance is saved. This ensures that noconfigured settings within the instance are lost if a choice or optionis deselected and then immediately re-enabled within the same editsession. Attributes that are candidates for removal are filtered fromthe main SAE attribute list. When an option or choice is enabled orselected within an instance any associated attributes that are found tobe missing from the object will be immediately added back to the objectwith their original inherited value. The selected (e.g., default)choices and option values have no impact on templates.

Impact on virtual primitive (e.g., limit alarms Hi, HiHi, Lo, LoLo,etc.): The wizard creator can enable lock the Hi.Priority to enforce thepriority any time Hi alarm is enabled by any choice. Conventionalsystems prevent removing the virtual primitive (e.g., Hi, HiHi, etc.) ifany of its attributes (e.g., priority) are locked. This is allowed inobject wizard child objects.

Settings (e.g., overriding a different value for differentoption/choice) include:

-   -   Unlocked, Not Hidden, Configurable “Child” Attribute Values    -   SAE-Specific Attribute Values include:        -   Whether the attribute is buffered        -   The attribute's I/O Mode        -   Whether Scaling is enabled for I/O        -   Whether or not the I/O source and destination are            independent    -   Attribute Features that are Enabled/Disabled

Configuring settings for associated attributes: Each associatedattribute has one or more configurable settings. These include theattribute's value as well as the value of any configurable attributeassociated with its features. If there is conflict of settings (e.g.,two or more settings applicable due to current selection) the user willbe warned, for example with a visual indication.

Dynamic nature of settings: The settings that can be configured in asystem platform (e.g., ArchestrA) feature depend on how other settingsare configured. For example, a Hi alarm needs to be enabled (e.g.,enabled flag set to true) before its limit can be specified. Since it ispossible in the above example for the alarm to be enabled by onechoice's setting and have its limit configured by another, the list ofavailable settings considers whether the alarm flag could be setsimultaneously by any choice's setting when considering whether to makethe dependent setting (e.g. Limit) configurable.

Providing specific setting values for each associated option/choice: Adifferent value for the same setting can be specified depending on thechoice the attribute is associated to. For example, the “small” choicemay have “20” specified for the Hi.Limit while the “large” choice has“60”.

Ability to hide settings from the wizard consumer: By default,configurable settings for associated attributes are not shown to thewizard consumer unless marked as needing to be shown. Whether shown ornot, the configured values for that choice are applied as the choicesand/or options are selected. When the settings are shown, the wizardconsumer has the ability to further customize the settings for eachinstance beyond the configurations performed by the wizard based on theselected choice.

Resetting overridden (e.g., changed) settings to default (e.g., originalvalue): The ability to reset the value to the one configured as the mainSAE default value may be provided.

Indication of non-default settings: Any setting with a non-default value(e.g., relative to the main SAE attribute value) may be indicated assuch within the wizard settings editor.

Impact of settings: Modified settings are applied (e.g., copied toactual attributes, etc.) as choices/options and selected withininstances. A checked-in object will reflect the settings. This means,during the creation of an instance, saving of an instance, and/orcascade check-in of the wizard template, all child instances will beupdated based on latest object wizard and settings changes in wizardtemplate.

Filtering: If desired, the list of settings can be filtered (e.g., byname) in a manner similar to the main SAE attributes list.

Testing (preview) wizard: The wizard consumer will have an option totest behaviors of the object wizard without checking-in the template andcreating an instance from it. In an embodiment, testing behaviorsinclude the impact of wizard option and choice selection on thevisibility of other choice groups, choices, and/or options, the impactof the wizard on the overall namespace of the object shown in the mainSAE attribute list, wizard setting values for the selected choicesand/or options temporarily appearing in the SAE as attribute values, andthe like. In an embodiment, the test mode is automatically turned off ifthe wizard GUI is hidden. When the test mode is turned off, allattributes and hidden wizard prompts are restored to their previousstates.

Derive from (e.g. specialize) an existing wizard: In general, theprocess of defining wizard choices and options in a derived template isidentical to the first level editable template. Exemplary additionalbehaviors within the wizard GUI include inherited choice groups,choices, and/or options are displayed with a unique color or otherindicator, the supported actions for an inherited choice group includeschanging the default choice or hiding it from the wizard consumer, thesupported action for an inherited choice is to hide it from the wizardconsumer, and the supported actions for an inherited option is to changethe default value or hide it from the wizard consumer.

Wizard utilization by the wizard consumer: Utilization of the wizard isa similar experience to its test mode except that attributes and theirfeatures will actually be added or removed and the appropriate settingsfor the selected choices will be applied. Any attributes found to bemissing when choices and/or options requiring them are selected will beimmediately added back, while the removal of unneeded attributes basedon the wizard configuration is deferred until the instance is saved.Similar to the test mode, choice groups, choices, and/or options arehidden based on the current option and choice configuration, settingsthat are not hidden can be configured, and all exposed settings will beavailable.

Configured settings: Configured settings are immediately applied totheir corresponding attributes as the choices and/or options requiringthem are selected and as they are edited by the wizard consumer.

Indication of non-default settings: Any setting with a non-default value(e.g., relative to configured settings for the selected choice and/oroptions) will be indicated as such to the wizard consumer. The wizardconsumer will have an option to reset the value to the one configured asthe default for the current choice and/or option.

Propagation rules for options and choice group changes: Added or deletedoptions, choice groups, and/or choices will be propagated with valuefrom the template. Exemplary propagation rules include:

-   -   1. Renaming of options and/or choice group will retain checked        status in child overrides.    -   2. The instance looks like the template until editing of the        instance.    -   3. When a user has modified in a child object, the checked        choice will be retained during propagation.    -   4. Wizard template will have a remove override command for        individual options and/or choice groups.    -   5. Wizard template will have a remove override command for        individual settings.    -   6. The wizard creator needs to know override settings.    -   7. The wizard consumer should have a visual indication of what        has been overwritten for choices and/or attributes.

Aspects of the present disclosure permit wizard integration (objectwizard and symbol wizard integration) as described below.

In some embodiments, the system is modified to provide wizardoptions/choices for the symbols. This gives the flexibility to the userto configure the symbol with various options and choices within thesymbol and user can configure them based on the need. The wizard creatorwants to develop a domain template (or object) that contains anassociated symbol wizard, so the wizard consumer can build anapplication that has different representations (e.g., instances) of thesame asset. Templates with object and symbol wizard integrationcapabilities provide an alternative mechanism for creating the sameinstances with different representation of the same template at designtime. A template (or standard) can associate with many different symbolwizards that represent ‘Views’ of an object. For example, a pump objectcan have simple view, SA (Situational Awareness) library looking pump, atrend pen, and at least two different type of meters, etc. In this way,the user (e.g., wizard consumer) can select the proper graphic based onthe purpose or need without having to create a new instance of theobject just to select different options.

Relationships between object and symbol wizard options are describedbelow.

Graphics only options: These symbol wizard options are only for graphicsand they don't have any link to object wizard options. These areavailable for the wizard consumer to fine tune the graphicrepresentation of the object during design time.

Object only options: These object wizard options are only for objectswhich are driving functionalities on the object shape. They are notassociated to any symbol wizard.

Object option drives symbol wizard option selection: These object wizardoptions are driving a set of option selections on one or multiple symbolwizards. Options from one or multiple symbol wizards that are linked tothese object wizard options are not visible to the wizard consumer andcan't be configured.

Object option drives symbol wizard option visibility: These objectwizard options are driving visibility of symbol wizard options. Bysetting the object wizard visibility option to true or false will showor hide, respectively, specific symbol wizard option to the wizardconsumer.

In an embodiment, the existing symbols cannot be associated with objecttemplates. The user needs to create a symbol for associating withtemplates. The associated symbol can embed into other existing symbolsjust like graphic toolbox (GTB) symbols.

In an embodiment, any symbol can potentially be an object wizard. Asymbol becomes an object wizard when it contains wizard choices/optionsand ceases to be an object wizard when the last choice/option isremoved. By default, when a symbol is created, it is not an objectwizard symbol. The user needs to create wizard choices/options to makethe symbol as wizard enabled. Also, if symbol embeds any other wizardsymbol, then it is not an object wizard symbol. The symbol itself shouldhave the wizard options/choices to qualify for an object wizard symbol.Upon successful creation of wizard choices/options and configuration,the user can preview (i.e., test) the settings without creating theinstance for it.

Associating/linking symbol wizard with object wizard choices andoptions: By design, any associated symbol of the template canpotentially be associated with the object wizard option/choices. FIG. 9illustrates an exemplary Sequence—Get associated symbols. A wizarddeveloper can associate more than one symbol to the same wizardchoice/option and there is no restriction on association. If a symbol isassociated with more than one choice/option, the symbol wizard settingscan be configured with unique values depending on the selected choice.Settings for associated symbols can also be optionally exposed (e.g.,Visibility) within the wizard consumer's editor to be customized foreach instance. When a symbol is associated with any choice/option of theobject wizard, the visibility of symbol wizard choices/options are setto ‘true’ by default.

Deleting the object wizard option/choices: The wizard developer candelete the existing object wizard choices/options, which results indeleting all related associated settings from the object. In anembodiment, there is no notification to the user while deleting theobject wizard choice or option.

Deleting the associated symbol wizard: When an associated symbol wizardis deleted from the template, the template will not be updatedautomatically in accordance with one or more embodiments. The systemremoves the deleted symbol wizard settings from the object automaticallywhen the template is loaded by wizard developer. The behavior is thesame as any associated symbol.

Visibility of symbol wizard options to the wizard consumer: The systemcontrols the visibility of the associated symbol wizard options/choicesbased on object wizard settings set by the wizard creator/developer.This object wizard and symbol wizard integration controls visibility ofthe symbol wizard choices/options. It doesn't control the visibility ofthe symbol itself. The symbol is associated with the template andavailable to the consumer.

The following describes settings for overriding different values fordifferent options/choices. FIGS. 12A and 12B together illustrate anexemplary Get SW Overrides and FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary Save andLoad Instance Overrides. FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary LoadingOverview Symbols and Applying SW Settings for loading and applying thelatest instance overrides for an embedded symbol.

Overriding symbol wizard settings: The wizard developer can override thesettings of the associated symbol wizard options/choices at the templatelevel. The modified settings for symbol wizard options will be stored aspart of the object itself and the original symbol wizard options for theassociated symbol will not be disturbed and the symbol contains thedefault values. The overridden symbol wizard settings (e.g.,choices/options) are not visible to the wizard consumer to modify thesettings on the instance or graphic editor.

Overriding Custom Properties of the Symbol: The wizard creator canoverride the value of custom property of the associated symbol at thetemplate level. The overridden custom property values are stored as partof the object itself and the original symbol will not be modified andthe symbol contains the default values. The overridden custom propertiesof the symbol are not visible to the wizard creator when object symbolis embedded into another graphic.

Overriding Visibility of symbol wizard Choices/Options: If the wizardcreator sets the visibility options to ‘false’ at the template level,then these symbol wizard choices/options will not be available to thewizard consumer. The wizard consumer will see symbol wizard optionswhich are set to visible by the wizard creator. Otherwise these SWoptions are not visible. By default all SW options will be visible tothe wizard consumer unless it is set to invisible by the wizard creator.When the wizard creator overrides the settings for SW, then visibilityof SW choices/options are set to “false” and the wizard consumer willnot be able to modify. In an embodiment, the SW ‘Graphic Only Options’defined by the wizard creator have no overrides in the OW. They arevisible to the wizard consumer during visual build configuration.

The below table describes the visibility of SW options to the wizardconsumer based on wizard developer/creator settings.

Wizard Creator Overrides for SW Visibility to wizard consumer ValueVisibility Instance Embedded Symbol F (No T (Default) Can't modify T(visible to in the Override) SW options in Graphic Editor) T F (whenuser object instance F (Overridden SW (Overridden overrides the SWchoices will not be value) value, the visibility visible in the set tofalse, and the Graphic Editor) checkbox is disabled for modification.So, it will not be visible to the wizard consumer.) T (Not valid T (Notvalid N/A scenario) scenario)

Testing (Preview) Wizard: The wizard developer will have an option totest the wizard's following behaviors without checking in the templateand creating an instance from it:

-   -   The impact of Wizard Option and Choice selection on the        visibility of other Choice Groups, Choices, and Options of        symbol wizard.    -   The impact of Wizard option and choice selection on the        thumbnail update of the SW    -   Overriding the custom property value at design time, doesn't        have any impact on the thumbnail or preview. It means that the        thumbnail and preview remains same when user overrides the value        of the custom property.

Wizard Utilization by the Wizard Consumer: Utilization of the wizard isa similar experience to its Test Mode for SW. Any changes to the SWsettings on the object will reflect a change in the thumbnailgeneration. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatgraphic rendering may be achieved by any suitable rendering frameworkand is not limited to drawing thumbnails.

Creating the object instance for given template: This is same as objectwizard choice and options. The wizard consumer can change the settingsvalues to refine the object instance based on scenario. These changeswill have impact on the symbol wizard settings and the thumbnail will begenerated based on the settings. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplarySequence—Get thumbnail. Any changes to the SW settings are stored aspart of the object instance itself without overriding values in thetemplate. The original symbol will not be modified and it contains theoriginal values.

Embedding associated symbol wizard in another graphic: Configuredoverridden settings of the symbol (symbol wizard and custom properties)from the OW are applied to the symbol when instance is created forassociated symbol. If associated symbol doesn't have any overriddenvalues on the template, then it shows the default values for the symbolwizard settings which are available on the symbol. Any changes to theembedded symbol wizard settings done by the wizard consumer are storedas part of the graphic. The original override values on the object willnot be modified.

Saving and opening the overview symbol with embedded symbol: The SWoverride values are persisted with the symbol while saving theoverview-symbol. The overridden values are applied to the symbol whilere-opening the symbol.

Apply SW overrides to embedded symbol while re-opening theoverview-symbol: The latest symbol override settings of the instance areapplied to the embedded symbol while loading the overview or parentsymbol if there are any changes to the instance after overview-symbolsaved. Otherwise, the symbol is loaded with default saved data.

Propagation Rules for Options and Choice Group Changes: The changepropagation for object wizard choices and options is same as discussedabove. When the wizard developer modifies the settings for a SW, thesechanges will be propagated to object instances automatically. The OW_SWchanges are propagated to the overview symbols immediately when overviewsymbol is modified. If the overview symbol is not opened, then thechanges are propagated in background and user can publish the overviewsymbols without opening it. When the wizard consumer loads theassociated symbol, the symbol gets the latest override values (e.g.,change propagation) from the object and applies them to it. Objectwizards in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure enableautomatic propagation of changes for unlocked element values (i.e.,value locking is no longer required). In an embodiment, propagation ofchanges are prevented if a value is explicitly configured (e.g.,overridden) within the derived standard on instance prior to the changeto the underlying standard.

Modify the SAE editor to show list of associated symbols: The SAE(Simplified Attribute Editor) is modified to show the list of associatedobject symbols as part of the editor along with attributes in ascendingorder of symbol name. An exemplary screenshot of the symbols isillustrated in FIG. 3. In an embodiment, a symbol list pane 302 shows arelatively tiny thumbnail (e.g., of size 100×100 pixels) of the symbolalong with symbol name. In an embodiment, the symbol list pane 302comprises an application object template library. By selecting a symbollist item, a details pane 304 will show an actual thumbnail based on thewindow width and height of the image control. The user can drag/dropsymbols into an association pane 306, which shows the wizard options inan options pane 308.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screenshot illustrating an implementation for theexemplary screenshot of FIG. 3. In this screenshot, the symbol list pane302 shows two symbols (“Pump” and “S1”), and the details pane 304 showsa thumbnail of the symbol selected in the symbol list pane 302 (i.e.,thumbnail of “S1”).

Associate SW with OW choices/options: The user can associate the symbolswith object wizard choices and options just like attributes. Afterassociating the symbols, the user can override the symbol wizardsettings based on requirements. These override settings are stored aspart of the object in the project database table. The system (e.g.,system 100, HMI 120, etc.) returns a list of all symbol wizardoptions/choices during configuration without applying the rules. This isused by the wizard creator to configure the domain template with symbolwizard options/choices.

Save object wizard settings as part of object: The wizard settings foran object are stored as part of the “_WizardDefinition_*’ dynamicattribute. Here, the ‘*’ represents the level of the object. Forexample, if a user creates the wizard settings at a first level ofderivation template, then the template has a dynamic attribute‘_WizardDefinition_1’. Similarly, if a user creates an instance for thistemplate, then the instance contains two dynamic attributes‘_WizardDefinition_1’ and ‘_WizardDefinition_2’. This dynamic attributeis stored in the ‘dynamic_attribute’ table of project database. Thisenables getting the wizard settings data directly from the databasewithout loading the actual automation object to avoid performance delayin loading the object. So, the wizard settings can be retrieved directlyfrom the database without object.

Save SW override values as part of object: As per the currentimplementation, the wizard settings are stored as part of‘_WizardDefinition_*’ attribute of object. In order to improve theperformance and load time of the SW (symbol wizard) override settingsfrom the object, additional dynamic attribute ‘_SymbolOverrides’ isadded to the object to contain the symbol override settings. Thisattribute contains the settings in the format of an XML string.Accordingly, client devices can read this XML string directly withoutloading the object to get the symbol overrides, which improvesperformance of the computing device(s).

Override the SW settings: The overridden settings are applied to theassociated symbol when the wizard consumer embeds the associated symbolin to other graphic of the object. The system internally gets theoverride values and applies to the associated symbol while embeddingwithout any user action. When the symbol is shown on the container (i.e.other symbol), by default it shows with override values.

Override visibility of the SW choices/options: The wizard developer cancontrol the visibility of the symbol wizard settings to the wizardconsumer.

Change propagations: When the wizard developer modifies the settings tothe template, the changes are propagated to the derived instancesimmediately. But these changes will not be propagated to the associatedsymbols, which are embedded in other graphics, immediately. The userneeds to re-open the container symbol in order to get the latest changesfrom the instance. In this case, if the graphic editor is opened whilemodifying the SW settings for the object, then the changes for theembedding symbol are propagated immediately to the overview symbol andthe user can take action of whether to apply the changes or not withoutre-opening the symbol.

Save and load object wizard override values for embedding symbol: Theoverridden settings of the embedding symbol are stored as part of thecontainer symbol while saving it to persist object wizard overrides. Thesettings are loaded while re-opening the container symbol to restore thesettings of the object wizard overrides for the embedding symbol.

Module Decomposition: The following identifies and describes the modulescontained in an embodiment of the disclosure.

Symbol Wizard Model Description: Symbol Wizard Model, in an embodiment,is a type of a .Net class. One purpose of this module is to interactwith Graphic Library components for loading the visual element data.This module is responsible for finding an associated symbol using theunderlying platform. Also, this module generates the thumbnail for thesymbol based on the wizard settings modified the by the wizarddeveloper.

Attribute Tab Description: Attribute Tab, in an embodiment, is a type ofa .Net managed assembly. One purpose of this module is to interact withthe Symbol Wizard Model to get the object symbol information. Also, thismodule is responsible for serializing and de-serializing the wizardsettings data from the XML files. This module is responsible for gettingthe symbols and showing them on the SAE editor. Also, this module isresponsible for associating the symbol wizard choices/options with theobject wizard and overrides the settings for SW.

Graphics Implementation Description: A graphics implementation, such asGalaxyGraphicslmpl, in an embodiment, is a type of .Net managed code.One purpose of this module is to interact with the IPackageServerNetcomponent, for example, for visual element operations. This module isresponsible for getting the visual element (e.g., graphics) data fromthe data base by using the IPackageServerNet component. This componentimplements interface methods to get the associated object wizardsettings from the database.

Graphic Library Description: Graphic Library, in an embodiment, is atype of .Net managed assembly. One purpose of this module is to interactwith a graphics interface to get the visual element data and embed theassociated symbol as part of the container. This module is responsiblefor loading the embedded symbol from the database and rendering thegraphic element on to the container. Also, this module loads symbolwizard choices and options for the selected symbol.

Galaxy Proxy Description: Galaxy Proxy, in an embodiment, is a type of.Net managed assembly. This module is a proxy between the GraphicLibrary and GalaxyGraphicslmpl modules. This module is responsible forgetting Visual Element data from the server (e.g., application server)and passing it to the clients.

Package Server Net Description: Package Server Net, in an embodiment, isa type of .Net managed assembly. This module is a wrapper to the serverdatabase and gets the data based on request by the clients. This moduleis responsible for getting Visual Element data from the database andpasses it to the GalaxyGraphicslmpl Module.

The following dependency description specifies the relationships amongentities. It identifies the dependent entities, describes theircoupling, and identifies the required resources. This section definesthe strategies for interactions among design entities and provides theinformation needed to easily perceive how, why, where, and at what levelsystem actions occur. It specifies the type of relationships that existamong the entities such as shared information, prescribed order ofexecution, or well-defined parameter interfaces. The dependencydescription provides an overall picture of how the system works in orderto assess the impact of requirements and design changes. It can helpmaintainers to isolate entities causing system failures or resourcebottlenecks. It can aid in producing the system integration plan byidentifying the entities that are needed by other entities and thatshould be developed first. This description can also be used byintegration testing to aid in the production of integration test cases.

The following module dependencies subsection identifies and describesall of the inter module dependencies.

Overall OW and SW Dependencies: FIGS. 5A-5E illustrate a class diagramdescribing dependencies for integrating symbol wizard with objectwizards. It shows all the classes that are part of the symbol wizardintegration with object wizards. FIG. 6 is a class diagram illustratingsymbol wizard overrides. This class diagram shows the interaction amongthe various symbol wizard override classes. FIG. 7 is a class diagramillustrating SymbolWizardModel dependencies. It shows the interaction ofvarious symbol wizard classes as part of the AttributeTab component.

The following interface description includes details of external andinternal interfaces according to an embodiment.

ObjectWizardInfo structure: This structure contains the objectinformation which is used to get the object wizard definitions from theserver. In an embodiment, the structure includes fields for a visualelement reference of they symbol and symbol wizard overrides.

ObjectWizardDefinition structure: This structure contains wizardinformation for the target object. In an embodiment, the structureincludes fields for an object identifier of the target object, a tagname of the object, a value of _Wizarddefinition_* in an XML string, anda checked-in package identifier of the object.

IGalaxyGraphicsV13 Interface: This interface is modified to have anadditional method for getting the object wizard settings fromGalaxyGraphicslmpl component.

The ‘Get object wizard Settings’ function takes an input of list ofobject names, extracts the wizard settings for given object using theIPackageServerNet component. The wizard settings are stored in thedatabase by serializing into a memory stream which is originally type ofMxValue containing string value. This function de-serializes the memorystream into MxValue and sends the output in the form on string. In anembodiment, the syntax includes an input array of structures having theobjects and their corresponding checked-in package identifiers for whichwizard definition attribute values should be retrieved, and an array ofstructures having the override information for the wizard definitionattributes of objects.

Interface: The graphic library client calls the‘GetObjectWizardSettings’ method providing the reference object name,otherwise the output will be an empty string.

IPackageServerNet Interface: This interface is extended to haveadditional method for getting the object wizard settings from thePackageServerNet component.

The ‘Get object wizard Settings’ function takes an input of list ofobjet names, extracts the wizard settings for given object by connectingto the data source directly. This method returns list of strings foreach wizard definition attribute. In an embodiment, the syntax includesan instance of an existing galaxy connection, a list of objectinformation for getting the wizard definitions, a list of object wizarddefinition values for the target objects, a count of response size, andan operation status.

The GalaxyGraphicslmpl component calls the ‘GetObjectWizardSettings’method providing the reference object name, otherwise the output will bean empty string.

IaaGalaxyGraphics Interface: This interface is modified to haveadditional method for getting the object wizard overrides settings fromthe IGalaxyGraphics component.

The ‘Get object wizard Settings’ function takes in input of object nameand gets the object overrides by using the IGalxyGraphics component.This method returns the list of object wizard definitions for the givenlist of objects. In an embodiment, the syntax includes a list of targetobject information, an error code, and a status message.

The GraphicContainerHost component calls ‘GetObjectWizardSettings’method providing the reference object name.

IGraphicContainerHost6 Interface: This interface is modified to haveadditional method for getting the symbol wizard overrides for the targetcontext object from the server.

The ‘Get symbol wizard Overrides’ method takes an input of contextobject info and returns list of symbol wizard overrides for each givencontext object. In an embodiment, the syntax includes a target list ofcontext object information. This is internal to the GraphicLibrarycomponent. The graphic containers or an embedded symbol usesIGraphicContainerHost to interact with the proxy for getting the symbolwizard overrides for given object from the server. The ‘Get SymbolOverride’ method takes an input of context object info and returnssymbol wizard override for given symbol name. In an embodiment, syntaxincludes a target list of context object information, and a name of thetarget symbol.

IConfigurationEditorSite6 Interface: This interface is modified to havean additional method for updating the modified symbol info to theFsObject while saving it, which internally updates the timestamp ofcorresponding Visual Element to invoke change propagation event to thesubscribed graphic editors. The ‘UpdateSymbols’ method takes an input ofmodified symbol names and returns HRESULT status. In an embodiment, thesyntax includes a target list of context object information. This methodtakes array of symbol names which are modified by object wizard settingsfor the selected instance. Internally, the FsObject uses this symbolname to find out the visual element and updates the timestamp of it totrigger the change propagation to all of the subscribed graphic editors.The AttributeTab will be calling this method while saving the wizarddata to update the modified symbols based on the wizard settings.

The following detailed design section contains the internal details ofeach design entity. This description contains the details needed byprogrammers prior to implementation. The detailed design description canalso be used to aid in producing unit test plans.

AttributeTab Detail: This component is responsible for serializing andde-serializing the object wizard data while saving and loading it. Thisclass loads the given wizard data and returns the list of choice groupsand overridden values for the object. The below static method is exposedby this component which will be used by the clients. In this design, theGraphicContainerHost uses this component to get the symbol wizardoverrides for given wizard definition data. In an embodiment, the syntaxincludes a list of wizard definitions. In accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure, the wizard settings data is stored in xml formatusing the Xaml serialization technique. Based on the performance impact,this serialization may change in the future without affecting othermodules.

SymbolWizardModel Detail: This is a managed class. This class isinstantiated by the client (i.e., SAE) passing IConfigurationEditorSiteinstance as an input parameter. This module contains list of associatedsymbols loaded for the object and provides the data for the selectedsymbol. This component internally subscribes to the symbol events(SymbolAdded, SymbolRemoved, SymbolModified, SymbolRenamed) of theGObject to get the symbol extension info from the FsObject instead ofusing the Association Browsing service.

SymbolDetail Detail: This is a managed class. This class is instantiatedby the SymbolWizardModel class to contain associated symbol informationof the selected object. This module contains the symbol data like name,identifier (ID), and list of choice groups of the associated symbol. Itgenerates a thumbnail based on current selection of the symbol andprovides it to the clients.

GalaxyGraphicslmpl Detail: This component implements theIGalaxyGraphicsV13::GetObjectWizardSymbolSettings( ) interface methodwhich is available in the ArchestrA.Configuration.GalaxyGraphics.dllinterop assembly. For given list of input object names, it verifies theexistence of the object name by using the IPackageServerNet component.If the object is available in the project, then it retrieves the objectwizard settings for the given object. This method extracts the objectoverrides from the data base in form of memory stream. After successfulretrieval, it de-serializes this into MxValue and returns the stringvalue it.

aaArchestrAGalaxyGraphicsProxy Detail: This component implements theIaaGalaxyGraphics::GetObjectWizardSettings( ) interface method which isavailable in the ArchestrA.Visualization.GraphicLibrarylnternal.dllassembly. For a given input object name, it gets the object wizardoverride settings by using the IGalaxyGraphics component. This methodreturns the list of wizard definitions to the caller.

aaGraphicContainerHost: This component implements theIGraphicContainerHost::GetSymbolWizardOverrides( ) andGetSymbolOverride( ) interface methods. This component interacts withIaaGalaxyGraphicsProxy interface to get the list of wizard definitionsfor given context objects and returns collection of symbol wizardoverrides for each of them. This component maintains the local cache forall associated symbols of the given object. When GraphicContainerrequests for a symbol to get the SW override settings, it returns thelocal cached values instead of getting from the server. This cache isupdated first time when it is loaded from the server for an object. Thismethod parses the output wizard definition data given by theIGalaxyGraphics component and returns the SW override data for theclients. Internally it uses the ‘AttributeTab’ (using Reflection) toload wizard definitions for each object and gets the symbol wizardoverrides which will be returned to the caller.

aaGraphicVersion: This component is modified to bump up the graphicversion to 234 for serializing and de-serializing the SW overrides fromthe object while saving the graphic container.

aaEmbeddedSymbol—‘LoadSymbolWizardOverrides’: The constructor of thiscomponent is modified to load the symbol wizard overrides from thecontext object. It uses GraphicContainerHost to get the list of SWoverrides from the server and applies to the symbol while loading thesymbol in the constructor. In an embodiment, the syntax includes a nameof the context object of the symbol, a name of the symbol, and an objectversion of the symbol. This method extracts the override settings forthe target symbol from the output data returned by the container host.If SW overrides exist, then it updates the internally list‘m_overriddenWizardProperties’ with list overridden values. The symbolis updated with override values after loading the symbol while drawingit. Also, it updates the ‘OptionDynamicProperties’ with list ofvisibility rules of SW choices and options to control the visibility ofchoices to the user for further configuration.

‘GetAllWizardOptions’: This component is modified to have public method‘GetAllWizardOptions’ for getting list of all wizard options for thesymbol during configuration. The SymbolWizardModel component (as part ofAttributesTab.dll) uses this method to override the SW settings duringconfiguration of domain templates. In an embodiment, the syntax includesan instance of the wizard option properties. This method internally usesthe ‘OptionDynamicProperties’ component to get list of all wizardproperties for the symbol and return them to the caller.

‘SavelnstanceOverrides’: This component is modified to persist thesymbol wizard override settings of the embedded symbol while saving thecontainer symbol. It saves the ‘OverrideVersion’ and ‘Visibility’ of thesymbol wizard options, so it can be restored while re-opening thecontainer symbol. In an embodiment, the syntax includes a save objectversion, a save object wizard overrides, a save symbol wizard name, anda save visibility of symbol wizard. This method internally serializesthe object overridden version and settings to the BinaryWriter (blob)which in turn stored as part of the parent symbol. This data will berestored while re-opening the symbol.

‘LoadInstanceOverrides’: In an embodiment, the syntax includes a readcontext object version and a get total number of overridden properties.This method internally de-serializes the object overridden version andvisibility of SW settings from the BinaryReader (blob) which is used torestore the object wizard overrides from the object apply them to theembedding symbol.

OptionDynamicProperties: This component contains the list of wizardchoices and options for the target symbol. This is generated dynamicallyto load and save the wizard options from the stream which is part of thetarget symbol. This is modified to have additional method‘GetAllProperties’ to get all of the wizard properties for the targetsymbol. This method is used by the SymbolWizardModel during associationof symbol wizard with object wizard choices/options during whiledeveloping the domain templates. In an embodiment, a method extracts thelist of available wizard properties for the target symbol withoutapplying the visibility rules and returns same thing to the caller.

aaGraphicContainer—Load Latest Object Wizard Overrides: This method isresponsible for getting the latest symbol override settings for from theserver and update the embedded symbols with latest settings. This methodis called from LoadChildElements( ) method after loading the all of thechild elements the overview symbol (i.e. symbol which is containing theembedded symbols). In an embodiment, the syntax includes populating alist of object wizard information from a graphic element name map, acall to a container host to get the symbol override settings for anarray of object information, getting the embedded symbols for eachobject in the list of objects to be updated, updating each embeddedobject, and making the container dirty to enable saving. Internally, itpopulates the list of context object information from each embeddedsymbol. It passes this list of objects to the container host to get theobject wizard overrides for all of objects at single shot. Hence,multiple calls to the server for getting the override settings can beavoided to improve responsiveness of the system.

GetThumbnail: This component is modified to update the thumbnail basedon actual window size of the container. The SAE requests this componentto get the thumbnail based on window size which will be shown to theuser during refinement of wizard choices/options. In an embodiment, thesyntax includes an actual width of the container that is rendering thegraphic, an actual height of the container that is rendering thegraphic, and a flag value to show a status graphic as part of thecontainer. In an embodiment, a method modifies size of the actual symboland returns the thumbnail based on given window size. It applies thetransform to enlarge or shrink the actual graphic element and convertsthe image into a bitmap which will be returned to the user in the formatof byte.

PackageServerNet detailed design: This component retrieves the symboloverride settings from the database for given target object name. Thismethod internally executes the stored procedure “to get the SW overridesfrom the attribute.” In an embodiment, the syntax includes an instanceof the galaxy connection object, a list of objects, a return list ofobject wizard overrides, a length of the response size, a status ofoperation, creating a temporary file with input data, executing thestored procedure, de-serializing the wizard settings and populating theoutput data, and returning the data. In an embodiment, a methodprocesses the input data which contains the visual element reference(i.e., object.symbol) and prepares the temporary file with list ofobject names. This method executes the stored procedures by passing thelist of object names and its versions. The stored procedure returns thedata set with wizard information for matching object names. If there isno change to the object version, then it returns empty data set. Itcompares input data symbol data with result data set using the XmlReader to make sure that there is a change to the symbol. If there areno changes to any symbol of the object, then it returns empty string,otherwise it returns entire symbol list (i.e. MxValue of_SymbolOverrides attribute).

GObject detailed design: This is a model class internal to theAttributeTab component which is a wrapper to FsObject component. Thiscomponent is responsible for getting the FsObject information likeattributes, extensions and listening to change propagation events to theFsObject component. This class will be modified to populate the symbolextension information and invoke corresponding events toSymbolWizardModel. Internally it parses the .Extensions and._InheritedExtensions attributes values and extracts the SymbolExtensioninfo to populate the collection of the symbols. These symbols will besent to the symbol wizard model to process them and load the symboldata.

The following Sequence diagrams subsection describes the design of eachprocess identified above.

Initialize symbol wizard Model: FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplarySequence—Initialize Symbol Wizard Model. FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplarySequence—Get associated symbols. FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplarySequence—Get thumbnail. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary Sequence—GetSymbol Wizard Options to get SW choice groups for the associated symbol.FIGS. 12A and 12B together illustrate an exemplary Get SW Overrides andFIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary Save and Load Instance Overrides. FIG.14 illustrates an exemplary Loading Overview Symbols and Applying SWSettings for loading and applying the latest instance overrides for anembedded symbol.

Object Symbol change propagation to Overview symbols: Currently theinherited symbol of asset/object's change information is not gettingadded to database. The visual_element_timestamp table keeps track, allthe symbol change information with the respective time stamp values ofowned symbols. To save the inherited symbol change information with thistable, updating all the symbols information may be needed when editingand saving the asset/object. If the asset has multiple inherited symbolsthen all these symbols information are updated tovisual_element_timestamp table. While saving the asset/object, we needto explicitly make the change in Graphic Change type to Visual Element.

This change involves saving the symbol information though we aremodifying the object. With this change in server side the graphic editorcan get the object wizard's change notification. No change is needed atthe client side as the existing the change notification from graphiceditor to graphic editor is able to send the changed information to thegraphic editor when the object symbol is embedded into overview symbol.

When opening the same object symbol that is being embedded, the graphiceditor will initialize the graphic symbol and initiate the start monitorcall (FIG. 8). When changing the symbol, the threadGetChangedVEAndCallVeListenerThread will request the package server togive the symbol change. The Graphic Library implements the twoIaaVisualElementListener, IGraphicChangeNotification Interfaces.

The exemplary sequence diagram of FIG. 15 shows the event flow when theembedding symbol changes.

The following describes object wizards derivation support. AdditionalChoice Groups and Options can be added to a template derived from anobject wizard. There are two main reasons for derivation:

Extend what another standards developer created to achieve a morecapable wizard. This includes adding additional choice groups, options,attributes, symbols, associations and settings to accommodate thespecific needs of a target solution. This process may also includemodifying some of the characteristics of the existing wizard, changingits defaults, or hiding undesired choices.

Simplify the asset builder's job by preconfiguring aspects common to aset of similar assets. This may also include changing the existingwizard's defaults choices or settings, but not in a simpler manner.Settings specific to the related assets are provided, but not valuesassociated with choices in order to change the behavior of the wizard.

Configuring a Derived Wizard: The workflow is the same as what existsfor 1st Level Wizard Development, with the following restrictions:

Inherited Choice Groups, Choices, and Options cannot be renamed,deleted, or moved up/down and cannot have their prompt, description, orvisibility rules edited

Inherited Choices and Options cannot have their symbol/attributeassociations or their settings removed

Within the derived wizard the following are supported:

Defining additional Choice Groups (and their Choices) and Options

Moving Choice Groups and Options defined within the derived templateup/down, including moving them above inherited Choice Groups andOptions.

Configuring the choice for an inherited choice group or the defaultchecked/unchecked state for an option. This does not just change thedefault choice. The action implicitly hides the choice group or optionwithin the editor of any templates or instances derived from the wizard.

Counts for inherited Choice Groups, Choices and Options are reset andadditions made within the derived template are included in the counts.

Override attribute/symbol setting values associated with inheritedchoices and options (same as the Asset Standard Developer's experience):

Value Example: Standards that includes specific Slow/Medium/Fastsettings can be refined for a target customer or solution.

Add additional symbol/attribute associations and settings to aninherited choice or option:

Value Example: A customer's standards developer wants additionalbehavior to be associated with inherited choices/options.

Hide specific undesired Choices within inherited Choice Groups that arestill visible:

Value Example: A customer's standards developer wants to allow the AssetBuilder to configure valves to Fail Open or Fail Closed, but does notallow a valve's Fail Safe mode to be None.

Override inherited attribute/symbol setting visibility to the assetbuilder or graphic designer:

Value Example: A customer's standards developer can hide visibleinherited settings that they do not want to be modified by the graphicdesigner.

Change the default choice group choice or option state without hidingthe group or option (or their associated settings):

Value Example: A customer's standards developer wants to change thedefault selection for a Choice Group or Option to follow their companyguideline, while still maintaining flexibility for the Asset Builder.Almost all analog valves in this facility might generally have positionfeedback, but in exceptional cases might not.

Additional Functionality includes refining visible attribute/symbolsetting values (same as Asset Builder's experience):

Value Example: Settings visible to the Asset Builder can bepreconfigured with values appropriate for a specific type of derivedasset. Newly instantiated 3WayAnalogValves can be fully configured withappropriate default settings before being edited by the Asset Builder.

Linking GTB graphic with objects: In some embodiments of the SystemPlatform, the system is allowed to embed the existing Graphic Tool Box(GTB) graphic inside of the object owned symbols to make use of the GTBgraphics. The properties (or symbol wizard) of the GTB graphic cannot beaccessed outside of the owned symbol when it is embedded and user needsto duplicate the properties from the owned symbol in order to associatewith object wizards. At design time, the user wants to link or ‘attach’a GTB graphic to a template or instance to utilize an existing GTBgraphic without having to create a new owned graphic and re-embed theGTB graphic. So, the user can associate the linked symbols with objectwizard and integrate symbol wizard settings without creating additionalsymbols. The GTB provides re-usable graphics in the system which can beutilized by multiple templates and instances with different ways:

Embedding into owned symbol

Link to GTB symbol

Link to GTB graphic using SAE: At design time the user can create alinked symbol using the Simplified Attribute Editor (SAE). The SAEprovides a way to show the existing GTB graphics (Graphic browser) tobrowse and select the GTB graphic and link it with the object.

Associate Linked symbol with object wizard: The wizard developer canassociate the linked symbol with object wizard settings and override thesymbol wizard settings for a linked symbol just like other owned symbol.There is no functional difference for linked symbol when compare withobject owned symbols.

Embed ‘Linked symbol’ of the object: User can embed the linked symbolsinside of other graphic (or overview symbol) just like other objectsymbol. There is no change in functionality for embedding the linkedsymbols.

Change propagation to ‘Linked symbol’: Since linked symbol is a link tothe original GTB graphic, if there is any change to the GTB graphic, thechanges are propagated to linked symbols directly.

Publish ‘Linked symbol’ of the object: Publishing the linked symbol issame as other owned symbol of the object. There is no change in thefunctionality it works same as other object symbols. When multipleobjects are linked to the same GTB-Graphic, during publish one copy ofthe GTB graphic is published. All of the other objects are links to thesame GTB-Graphic without creating multiple copies.

Rename ‘GTB-Symbol’ which is linked with object: The current design ofVERL takes care of updating the link when GTB-Graphic is renamed. Notethat the linked symbol is just an empty symbol which internally linkedto the GTB graphic. It means, the preview and thumbnail of the linkedsymbol is same as the GTB graphic when it is linked. For symbol wizardGTB graphic, the user can configure override values using object wizardsettings to change the functionality of the symbol based on configuredsettings at runtime.

In an embodiment, aspects of the disclosure are integrated with symbolwizard functionality within Wonderware System Platform, as furtherdescribed herein. Unlike object wizards, symbol wizards do not supportmultiple levels of derivation.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary method of deriving application objectinstances in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. At step1602, an application object template library stores a set of previouslydefined application object templates. In an embodiment, the applicationobject templates each include one or more elements representing asuperset of domain-specific options common to a set of related assets ofan industrial process. At step 1604, a configuration utility (e.g., anobject wizard, etc.) specifies at least one of the domain-specificoptions for each element. At step 1606, the configuration utilitycreates instances of the application object templates to be included ina supervisory process control and manufacturing information applicationfor the industrial process. The instances are comprised of one or moreapplication objects instantiated from selected application objecttemplates including selected domain-specific options. At step 1608, theconfiguration utility automatically configures the instances with theselected domain-specific options.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may comprise a special purposecomputer including a variety of computer hardware, as described ingreater detail below.

Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure also includecomputer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executableinstructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readablemedia can be any available media that can be accessed by a specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code means in the form of computer-executable instructions ordata structures and that can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. When information is transferred or provided over anetwork or another communications connection (either hardwired,wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, thecomputer properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium.Thus, any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Computer-executable instructions comprise, forexample, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device toperform a certain function or group of functions.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable computing environment in which aspects of thedisclosure may be implemented. Although not required, aspects of thedisclosure will be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by computers in network environments. Generally, programmodules include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated datastructures, and program modules represent examples of the program codemeans for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. Theparticular sequence of such executable instructions or associated datastructures represent examples of corresponding acts for implementing thefunctions described in such steps.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that aspects of the disclosuremay be practiced in network computing environments with many types ofcomputer system configurations, including personal computers, hand-helddevices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,and the like. Aspects of the disclosure may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by localand remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwiredlinks, wireless links, or by a combination of hardwired or wirelesslinks) through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

An exemplary system for implementing aspects of the disclosure includesa special purpose computing device in the form of a conventionalcomputer, including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system busthat couples various system components including the system memory tothe processing unit. The system bus may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Thesystem memory includes read only memory (ROM) and random access memory(RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routinesthat help transfer information between elements within the computer,such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM. Further, the computer mayinclude any device (e.g., computer, laptop, tablet, PDA, cell phone,mobile phone, a smart television, and the like) that is capable ofreceiving or transmitting an IP address wirelessly to or from theinternet.

The computer may also include a magnetic hard disk drive for readingfrom and writing to a magnetic hard disk, a magnetic disk drive forreading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk, and an opticaldisk drive for reading from or writing to removable optical disk such asa CD-ROM or other optical media. The magnetic hard disk drive, magneticdisk drive, and optical disk drive are connected to the system bus by ahard disk drive interface, a magnetic disk drive-interface, and anoptical drive interface, respectively. The drives and their associatedcomputer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, andother data for the computer. Although the exemplary environmentdescribed herein employs a magnetic hard disk, a removable magneticdisk, and a removable optical disk, other types of computer readablemedia for storing data can be used, including magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs,solid state drives (SSDs), and the like.

The computer typically includes a variety of computer readable media.Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media include both volatileand nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Computer storage media are non-transitory and include, but are notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage,SSDs, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to storethe desired non-transitory information, which can accessed by thecomputer. Alternatively, communication media typically embody computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data ina modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media.

Program code means comprising one or more program modules may be storedon the hard disk, magnetic disk, optical disk, ROM, and/or RAM,including an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. A user may enter commands andinformation into the computer through a keyboard, pointing device, orother input device, such as a microphone, joy stick, game pad, satellitedish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are oftenconnected to the processing unit through a serial port interface coupledto the system bus. Alternatively, the input devices may be connected byother interfaces, such as a parallel port, a game port, or a universalserial bus (USB). A monitor or another display device is also connectedto the system bus via an interface, such as video adapter 48. Inaddition to the monitor, personal computers typically include otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.

One or more aspects of the disclosure may be embodied incomputer-executable instructions (i.e., software), routines, orfunctions stored in system memory or non-volatile memory as applicationprograms, program modules, and/or program data. The software mayalternatively be stored remotely, such as on a remote computer withremote application programs. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data typeswhen executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computerexecutable instructions may be stored on one or more tangible,non-transitory computer readable media (e.g., hard disk, optical disk,removable storage media, solid state memory, RAM, etc.) and executed byone or more processors or other devices. As will be appreciated by oneof skill in the art, the functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition,the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware orhardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, application specificintegrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and thelike.

The computer may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers. The remote computers mayeach be another personal computer, a tablet, a PDA, a server, a router,a network PC, a peer device, or other common network node, and typicallyinclude many or all of the elements described above relative to thecomputer. The logical connections include a local area network (LAN) anda wide area network (WAN) that are presented here by way of example andnot limitation. Such networking environments are commonplace inoffice-wide or enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer is connected tothe local network through a network interface or adapter. When used in aWAN networking environment, the computer may include a modem, a wirelesslink, or other means for establishing communications over the wide areanetwork, such as the Internet. The modem, which may be internal orexternal, is connected to the system bus via the serial port interface.In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to thecomputer, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memorystorage device. It will be appreciated that the network connectionsshown are exemplary and other means of establishing communications overwide area network may be used.

Preferably, computer-executable instructions are stored in a memory,such as the hard disk drive, and executed by the computer.Advantageously, the computer processor has the capability to perform alloperations (e.g., execute computer-executable instructions) inreal-time.

The order of execution or performance of the operations in theembodiments illustrated and described herein is not essential, unlessotherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in anyorder, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments may includeadditional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example,it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operationbefore, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within thescope of aspects of the disclosure.

Embodiments may be implemented with computer-executable instructions.The computer-executable instructions may be organized into one or morecomputer-executable components or modules. Aspects of the disclosure maybe implemented with any number and organization of such components ormodules. For example, aspects of the disclosure are not limited to thespecific computer-executable instructions or the specific components ormodules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Otherembodiments may include different computer-executable instructions orcomponents having more or less functionality than illustrated anddescribed herein.

When introducing elements of aspects of the disclosure or theembodiments thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” areintended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms“comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive andmean that there may be additional elements other than the listedelements.

Having described aspects of the disclosure in detail, it will beapparent that modifications and variations are possible withoutdeparting from the scope of aspects of the disclosure as defined in theappended claims. As various changes could be made in the aboveconstructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope ofaspects of the disclosure, it is intended that all matter contained inthe above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform comprising: one or morecomputers comprising one or more processors and one or morenon-transitory computer readable media, the non-transitory computerreadable media comprising instructions stored thereon that when executedcause the one or more computers to: implement, by the one or moreprocessors, a development environment that enables the design,development, and deployment of applications that are executed by processcontrollers; implement, by the one or more processors, an applicationobject template library configured to store a set of previously definedapplication object templates; create, by the one or more processors, oneor more application object templates that each include a superset ofdomain-specific options common to a set of related domain objects; andspecify, by the one or more processors, at least one domain-specificoption of the superset and create one or more application objectinstances to be included in one or more application objects; wherein theone or more application object instances are automatically configuredwith the selected domain-specific options.
 22. The template-basedsupervisory process control and manufacturing application developmentplatform of claim 21, wherein the at least one domain-specific optiondefines at least one of an attribute, a script, a symbol, and a behaviorprimitive of an asset to be included in an application object associatedtherewith.
 23. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 21, furtherincluding a symbol wizard configured to automatically propagate modifiedsettings to the one or more application object instances.
 24. Thetemplate-based supervisory process control and manufacturing applicationdevelopment platform of claim 23, the non-transitory computer readablemedia comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed furthercause the one or more computers to: override settings of the symbolwizard and associate a graphic toolbox symbol with the applicationobject instance.
 25. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 21, wherein theat least one domain-specific option enables values of one or moreattributes to be inherited from the one or more application objecttemplates.
 26. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 23, thenon-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions storedthereon that when executed further cause the one or more computers to:provide, by the one or more processors, behavior testing of selectedones of the one or more application object templates before creating theone or more application object instances.
 27. The template-basedsupervisory process control and manufacturing application developmentplatform of claim 23, the non-transitory computer readable mediacomprising instructions stored thereon that when executed further causethe one or more computers to: specify, by an object wizard, at least oneof the domain-specific options for each the one or more applicationobject instances.
 28. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 27, thenon-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions storedthereon that when executed further cause the one or more computers to:configure, by the object wizard, the one or more application objectinstances with the selected ones of the domain-specific optionsautomatically.
 29. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 27, wherein theobject wizard is integrated with a symbol wizard.
 30. A template-basedsupervisory process control and manufacturing application developmentplatform comprising: one or more computers comprising one or moreprocessors and one or more non-transitory computer readable media, thenon-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions storedthereon that when executed cause the one or more computers to: provide,by the one or more processors, a human-machine interface (HMI)application manager comprising one or more graphical representationsthat enables monitoring and administration of a manufacturing process;implement, by the one or more processors, an object wizard configured tocreate one or more application object instances for one or moreapplication object templates within the HMI application manager;specify, by the object wizard, at least one domain-specific option forone or more application objects within the one or more applicationobject templates; and configure, by the object wizard, the one or moreapplication object instances with the selected domain-specific optionsautomatically.
 31. The template-based supervisory process control andmanufacturing application development platform of claim 30, wherein theobject wizard is integrated with a symbol wizard.
 32. The template-basedsupervisory process control and manufacturing application developmentplatform of claim 31, wherein the symbol wizard is configured topropagate modified settings to the one or more application objectinstances automatically.
 33. The template-based supervisory processcontrol and manufacturing application development platform of claim 32,the non-transitory computer readable media comprising instructionsstored thereon that when executed further cause the one or morecomputers to: override settings of the symbol wizard and associate agraphic toolbox symbol with the application object instance.
 34. Thetemplate-based supervisory process control and manufacturing applicationdevelopment platform of claim 32, the non-transitory computer readablemedia comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed furthercause the one or more computers to: propagating, by the object wizard,modified settings of the symbol wizard to the instances of theapplication object templates automatically.
 34. The template-basedsupervisory process control and manufacturing application developmentplatform of claim 31, the non-transitory computer readable mediacomprising instructions stored thereon that when executed further causethe one or more computers to: override, by the object wizard, settingsof the symbol wizard.
 35. The template-based supervisory process controland manufacturing application development platform of claim 31, thenon-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions storedthereon that when executed further cause the one or more computers to:associate, by the object wizard, a graphic toolbox symbol with at leastone of the one or more application object instances.
 36. Thetemplate-based supervisory process control and manufacturing applicationdevelopment platform of claim 30, wherein the at least onedomain-specific option is configured to enable values of attributes tobe inherited from the one or more application object templates.
 37. Thetemplate-based supervisory process control and manufacturing applicationdevelopment platform of claim 36, wherein the object wizard isintegrated with a symbol wizard; and wherein the symbol wizard isconfigured to propagate modified settings to the one or more applicationobject instances automatically.
 38. The template-based supervisoryprocess control and manufacturing application development platform ofclaim 30, the non-transitory computer readable media comprisinginstructions stored thereon that when executed further cause the one ormore computers to: provide, by the object wizard, behavioral testing ofselected ones of the application object templates including selectedones of the domain-specific options before said creating.